Blancpain Watches

About Blancpain

Founded in 1735, Blancpain is the oldest watch brand in operation today. When Frederic Piguet and Jean Claude Biver purchased the rights to the brand in 1983, they helped bring traditional mechanical watchmaking and complications back into vogue with collectors. Biver stated there never was a quartz Blancpain, and there never will be!

Today, Blancpain is part of the Prestige range of brands within the Swatch Group, continuing their storied history of creating high-horology timepieces packaged in everything from tool-oriented sports watches to precious metal grand complications.

Blancpain History

Blancpain was started by Jehan-Jaques Blancpain in Villeret, Switzerland, in 1735, making it the oldest brand still in operation today. When Frederic-Louis Blancpain, Jehan's grandson, took over the company in 1815, he modernized production methods.

He replaced the crown-wheel mechanism with a cylinder escape, which proved to be a major development in watchmaking. In the 19th century, industrialization threatened many watch brands, but Blancpain managed to survive by modernizing its factory and focusing on high-end products.

In 1926, Blancpain partnered with John Harwood and started to market the first automatic wristwatch. Upon the death of Frédéric-Emile Blancpain in 1932, the brand was purchased by employees Betty Fiechter and André Léal, renaming the brand to Rayville-Blancpain. In 1950, Betty's nephew joined the leadership, and they joined the SSIH, along with Omega, Tissot, and Lemania, to meet the ever-increasing demand for mechanical watches at the time.

During the Quartz Crisis of the 1970s, SSIH started to sell off brands due to dwindling demand for mechanical watches. In 1983, Jacques Piguet (son of Frédéric Piguet) and Jean-Claude Biver purchased the brand. During this time, they created some of the smallest complicated watches, competing with other haute horlogerie brands. SSIH repurchased Blancpain in 1992. The SSIH became the Swatch Group, and Nicolas Hayek took over management of the brand from Jean Claude-Biver.

Blancpain Collections

Blancpain offers a wide variety of watches for all types of enthusiasts. Whether you're looking for a robust and reliable tool watch or a fancy dress watch, Blancpain has you covered.

Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Collection

The Fifty Fathoms is their platform for their most purposeful dive watches, including a model with a mechanical depth gauge. Blancpain has created a Fifty Fathoms to cater to every watch collector, from simple time-only versions and heritage-inspired limited editions to gem-set tourbillons with swimmable water resistance.

Blancpain Villeret Collection

The closest collection to the watches created when Jean Claude Biver resurrected the brand, the Villeret collection is Blancpain's platform for traditional dress watches and grand complications.

Named after the village where Blancpain started, the latest movement technology and brand design updates are usually first shown in the Villeret collection. The Villeret collection is full of unique complications, such as a monopusher chronograph with a complete calendar and a Chinese perpetual calendar.

Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe

The Bathyscaphe collection carries on a design tradition from the 1960s. Despite its vintage inspiration, Blancpain equips Bathyscaphe watches with their modern calibers and case materials, including ceramic and grade 23 titanium.

Complications available include triple calendars, flyback chronographs, and annual calendars. There is also a 38mm version, available in steel with traditional blue and black dials, along with a few white dialed and gem set versions.

Blancpain Air Command Collection

Drawing inspiration from the brand's history of making pilot watches for the US military, the Air Command collection is a high-end interpretation of a pilot's watch. Featuring bold numerals, a flyback 12-hour two-register chronograph, a tachymeter scale, and a rotating countdown bezel, the functional hallmarks of a tool watch are all present.

The high-end movement features finishing that is similar to the Bathyscaphe collection in that it appears utilitarian from afar, but closer inspection reveals a high level of attention to detail.

Blancpain Ladybird Collection

The Ladybird collection started in 1956, with the smallest round mechanical movement at the time. Making no compromises on their dedication to mechanical movements, the Ladybird collection continues to offer mechanical watches of the highest caliber with more feminine designs. Models within this range vary from simple time-only pieces with mother-of-pearl dials to fully gem-set masterpieces and complications in smaller case sizes.

Blancpain Métiers d'Art Collection

If only the best will do, Blancpain's Métiers d'Art collection needs your attention. This is where Blancpain showcases hand-engraved, painted, and finished dials, along with highly decorated movements, both with and without complications. Many are unique pieces, and this is where one would go if they desired a custom timepiece.

Blancpain Le Brassus Collection

The Le Brassus collection features mostly complicated models in precious metals and larger case sizes. The collection is named after the town where the second branch of Blancpain's manufacturing opened in 1859. Watches from the Le Brassus collection blend intricate dial designs with high-end complications to create a unique, eye-catching combination.

How Much Do Blancpain Watches Cost?

Blancpain timepieces start around $10,000 for time-only stainless steel pieces and can reach all the way up to $500,000 or more for highly complicated jewelry pieces. Below is a guide to give you an idea of the selection and range within each line.

Best Selling Blancpain Watches

Blancpain's reputation is mostly as a collector-oriented brand, but that has not kept them from having more well-known and popular models. To get familiar with the brand, below are some of their most famous and widely regarded pieces.

Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Titanium (ref. 5015 12B30 B52A)

The Fifty Fathoms is Blancpain’s iconic dive watch. It may look like a typical Fifty Fathoms from afar, but the titanium case makes this more unique and makes the large 45mm wide case light on the wrist. The titanium also gives the case a more muted look, but the movement and dial feature Blancpain’s top-tier finish. A contemporary take on Blancpain’s iconic diver, the Fifty Fathoms in titanium mixes haute horology with purpose-oriented good looks.

Blancpain Villeret Quantieme Perpetual Calendar (ref. 6656-1127-55B)

When Blancpain relaunched in the 1980s, creating some of the smallest, mechanical grand complication movements propelled them to the forefront of collector’s minds. Today, they continue that tradition, offering a number of highly complicated timepieces, especially in their Villeret Collection.

Modernized to 40mm, this formally styled perpetual calendar in steel allows collectors to own one of horology’s best complications in a durable material. It also features one of Blancpain’s innovations: the corrector pushers in the watch’s lugs prevent accidental pressing of the correctors and protect the perpetual calendar mechanisms

Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe (ref. 5000 36S40 O52A)

The Bathyscaphe is Blancpain’s heritage-inspired diver, taking inspiration from Blancpain divers from the 1960s. This results in a style that is arguably more suitable for daily wear, as the slimmer bezel and applied dot and stick indices dress this dive watch up. This specific model in red gold heightens the more fashionable aspects of this watch, making this beach-ready diver a surefire statement in the boardroom as well.

Blancpain Air Command (ref. AC02 12B40 63B)

The Air Command line by Blancpain takes inspiration from their history of manufacturing aviation chronographs for the US military. Today, the Air Command combines the heritage-inspired design with its modern and high-end movement finishing and technology.

With a twelve-hour two-register chronograph and a rotating timing bezel, this watch can time multiple events at once. The 42.5mm case is on the larger side, but the titanium case keeps the weight down.

Blancpain Movements

Jean-Claude Biver famously declared that Blancpain has never made a quartz watch and never will. Even after his tenure with the company had ended, this ethos has continued under Swatch Group management.

Blancpain offers movements with both mechanical hand-wound movements and automatic movements that are wound with a rotor mass. Blancpain differentiates its sports watch and dress watch lines with different movement finishing. On the dress watches, Blancpain focuses on traditional movement finishing techniques, including Geneva striping, perlage, and polished beveled edges on the movement bridges (mirrored englage).

On the Air Command and Fifty Fathom models, Blancpain applies a sunray effect stripping to the movement, giving it a brushed finish from far away, but the line work is precise under close inspection. In addition, they keep the beveled edges, really highlighting the brand's talent with movement finishing.

The rotors on automatic winding watches are 18k gold. On the sports models, they still use 18k gold, but they are plated to have a dark gray appearance.

Blancpain Watch Colors

Blancpain primarily sticks to conventional dial colors, such as white, silver, black, and blue. Some of its sports watches, particularly in the Bathyscaphe line, come in more contemporary colors like green and beige.

For the feminine-oriented models, especially in the Ladybird collection, there are more adventurous examples of color use. The dials are mother of pearl but with brightly colored accents for the numerals and color-matched straps.

Blancpain Watch Materials

Blancpain takes pride in the high-quality material they use. In their most affordable cases, you’ll find top-grade stainless steel with exquisite finishing, while some of the brand’s most tool-oriented watches come with titanium cases. For the more dressy timepieces, Blancpain utilizes all kinds of precious metals like yellow gold, red gold, and white gold.

Blancpain dive watches also come with ceramic or sapphire bezel inserts to ensure maximum durability even in the most adverse conditions. Finally, all Blancpain watches are equipped with sapphire crystals that are highly resistant to scratches.

Blancpain Watch Types

Blancpain mainly focuses on dress watches and complicated timepieces. The Villeret collection has some of the best dress watches you can buy in their price range. Still, their Fifty Fathoms, Bathyscaphe, and Air Command lines are the most popular among collectors today.

Blancpain offers complicated calendars and chronographs in the Bathyscaphe line, along with a pilot chronograph in the Air Command line. It is possible to assemble a collection of varying styles of watches within the Blancpain brand.

Blancpain Complications

Blancpain offers complications in other collections, but the Villeret line is where the brand shows its watchmaking know-how.

Showcasing conventional complications such as perpetual calendars, tourbillons, chronographs, and minute repeaters, they also assemble unique complications such as a Chinese perpetual calendar, along with a carousel tourbillon with a minute repeater and flyback chronograph.

Blancpain displays a great deal of creativity when it comes to assembling and creating unique sets of complications.

Blancpain Ambassadors and Partnerships

Blancpain’s associations as a brand focus on two main pillars: Blancpain’s Ocean Commitment and the Guide Michelin. With their Ocean Commitment initiative, they sponsor a number of awards, ocean conservation efforts, and explorers focused on oceanic conservation.

Their partnership with the Guide Michelin has resulted in Blancpain working with a number of award-winning chefs, spreading awareness, and developing the world of high gastronomy.

Seemingly in line with their focus on collectors, Blancpain does not have large celebrity brand ambassadors. Instead, they focus on partnerships that are efforts to achieve the best possible result in a given field. With the history of the Fifty Fathoms and the enthusiasm and dedication around gastronomy, these partnerships align with Blancpain as a brand.

Recently, as part of the Swatch Group, Swatch released a collaboration with Blancpain, creating the Scuba Fifty Fathoms collection. In bio-ceramic, with an automatic Sistem51 movement, these watches combine the fun of Swatch with heritage-inspired designs from the Fifty Fathoms collection, offering a wider range of watch enthusiasts a taste of the Fifty Fathoms.

Buying Blancpain Watches

As part of the Swatch Group, Blancpain watches are relatively widely distributed. While not as widespread as other brands within the group, Blancpain watches have a global network of authorized dealers, which Exquisite Timepieces is a part of. Should you have an interest in a Blancpain watch, do not hesitate to reach out to the sales team at Exquisite Timepieces.

Caring for your Blancpain Watch

Blancpain does benefit from being part of the Swatch Group, as they are able to utilize the silicon and anti-magnetic technology developed by the group in many of their watches, which does reduce service costs. Still, servicing your watch regularly is vital for it to be maintained and enjoyed for the generations it was intended for.
Exquisite Timepieces will take care of all servicing procedures for your precious Blancpain watch and ensure it remains in top condition. Should a problem arise with your highly-complicated timepiece, we’ll ensure it is properly repaired by the best watchmakers.

Blancpain FAQ

Is Blancpain a good brand?

Blancpain is one of the best watch brands on the market. Part of the Prestige group of brands of Swatch Group, the brand's offerings regarding complications and overall finishing are some of the best available, standing toe-to-toe with other famous watch manufacturing houses.

Is Blancpain as good as Rolex?

Blancpain is very different from Rolex. Blancpain offers a higher degree of movement and case finishing, as well as a wider range of luxurious materials, while Rolex produces excellent sports watches made from the most durable materials.

Why is Blancpain so expensive?

Because of the level of handwork that goes into Blancpain watches, they do command a premium over other brands. From time-only pieces to high complications, Blancpain does not sacrifice the quality of watches regardless of price. With that, they do offer a great deal of value for the asking price.

Are Blancpain watches a good investment?

Bought correctly and well maintained, Blancpain watches retain a good amount of their value and will serve owners well for many years. Blancpain is a brand to focus on when choosing watches for personal enjoyment and not on speculation of potential growth in value.

Find your new Blancpain watch with Exquisite Timepieces

Whether it is your first purchase or adding to an existing collection, Exquisite Timepieces is an authorized retailer for Blancpain, both in our store in Naples, Florida, and online.
As an authorized dealer, all our new Blancpain timepieces come with their full manufacturer warranties and will be shipped free of charge and fully insured. Should you have any questions, please reach out and contact us, and an Exquisite Timepieces representative will be happy to assist you.